Hyouka 氷菓
by Lrrr Ruler Of Omicron Percei 8
Summary: Standing on the precipice right in front of you, never really seen. While never opening my mouth, I scream. Semi SI OC lives his second life with the motto: "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick," and finds it strangely suited to life as a ninja.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. This is my first published attempt at a fanfic, so bear with me if I make mistakes. This fic is partially influenced by the light novel and anime Hyouka, but not nearly enough to be called a crossover; some characters may resemble one's from Hyouka, though not many. Unlike in most reincarnation stories the MC will not keep most of his memories but will be as intelligent and mature as child development allows. The MC's presence will also make changes to canon, although these will not become apparent until later in the story.** **Please review with your thoughts on the story as any opinions would be greatly appreciated. Even if you drop it in the first chapter, telling me why would be great.**

 _"Italics" - Thought_

"Speach" - Normal speech

 **Disclaimer: I DO own Naruto… in my dreams. I don't have any rights to Hyouka either... or anything else I may reference, deliberately or incidentally.**

 _Edited on 05/06/2018: minor changes, if you have read it already, don't need to read again._

 _Minor edit on 07/06/2018_

 _Minor edit on 11/06/2018_

 **AN2: I've been told that some people find this confusing, that is deliberate. The story is told completely from the perspective of the MC, who at this point in time is a baby and consequently, has the limitations of one. Therefore, if the MC is confused about something or perceives something a certain way, that is what's conveyed to the reader: he is an unreliable narrator. I've also had people confused about the age of my character. This is again due to the MC's lack of knowledge. As this is a minor detail, though, I will put his age in the AN's from now on. The MC is around 2 months old by the end of this chapter. Moreover, this fic will be dark and is a slight AU with a more militaristic Konaha, so keep that in mind.**

* * *

Chapter 1

Standing on the brink of the platform, just one of the endless masses, reflecting on what has brought me here. I was always too kind, too trusting. It was what had led me to be taken advantage of when I was younger; it was what led me to bereavement when my first love got curious about the wrong things - emotions overruled logic - and ended up broken; I was naive and ended up as the scapegoat for the corporation I ended up working for, and I broke at the betrayal of the one who had earned my trust.

I had finally realized. It was such an obvious thing. For a long time, I had lived by the motto: 'If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick.' I had concluded that there isn't a need for me to live. _If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick._

I lean forward, spread eagle as I entrust myself to gravity. I descended towards the tracks, completely at ease. The train came into the station and sent me to the darkness.

 _"Ahh,"_ I thought, _"I hear screaming. Maybe if I could do that, I wouldn't be here right now."_

* * *

In the darkness, I am floating. All there is the ' _thump, thump_ ' of a steady beat that I come to love and, the ' _thrum, thrum_ ' of a foreign sensation that soon comforts me.

Later, there is muted mumbling, a soothing song. There are others too but, I like the one I hear the most the best.

I discover movement. Whenever I move the muted mumbling happens more and is even more soothing. Subsequently, I do it as often as possible. Unfortunately, it doesn't take much before I return to the darkness.

Suddenly, the mumbles become not soothing and, then there's **screaming** and _squeezing_. The mumbling is different, there are blurry blurs everywhere, there are weird smells and it's cold. I miss the darkness, the ' _thump, thump_ ' and the ' _thrum, thrum_ '. I don't like it, so I scream. For some reason, this makes an unhappy voice say: _"A bit late for that"._

Then, the mumbling that made me scream stops, and the mumbling I like is back again, only this time it's better. A blur wraps me in another blur and it makes me warm.

The blur moves me to another blur but, this one feels warmer, more familiar. The blur puts something in my mouth while mumbling sweet mumbles and it's the mumblings I like the best.

I suck on the thing that's in my mouth and something comes out. It makes me feel warm inside, so I like it.

Then the thing is taken out of my mouth and, I'm rested on the soft things attached to the thing that was in my mouth. It's warm there and, I hear the ' _thump, thump_ ' again.

I rest there for a while listening to the sweet mumblings and, the ' _not as nice_ ' mumblings as well. It soothes me as I drift off into the darkness.

* * *

The blur with the voice I like best and calls itself 'Ka', is suddenly in front of me, so I make a noise of surprise. Ka definitely wasn't there a second ago and, I didn't hear their approach.

It must have been because I was looking at the spinning, colorful shapes hanging above me from my prison: a place where I am wrapped in warm and soft blankets with bars stopping me from escape. Not like I could escape if I wanted to.

Ka's face, when I'm surprised, makes me irritated somehow. She's smiling - _I love it when she smiles_ \- but it's not the same as usual. The glint in her green eyes when she does always make me uneasy.

I turn side to side and wave my arms and legs as much as possible in my fluffy bindings, happily gurgling all the while, in a move that I know makes her smile that nice smile, and causes the glint in her eyes to mellow into a glow.

Ka picks me up and, her face becomes clearer. I take a moment to appreciate her somewhat sharp, but still beautiful, features and her silky looking light... brown? hair. She holds me against her chest and, I can feel the ' _thrum, thrum_ ' and the ' _thump, thump_ ' I have grown familiar with. She leans in close to my face and proceeds to speak in her calm, melodic way. I have no idea what she speaks of, but I listen with rapt attention regardless.

At some point, the blur with my second favorite voice has started speaking as well, sitting next to Ka. I wonder when that had occurred and when we had moved. I reaffirm my resolve to pay more attention, as Ka's face changes as she notices my surprise; I don't like that face.

'Toe' as the other one refers to himself, gets to experience the brunt of Ka's face as she turns and speaks to him. Whatever she says makes him upset before he takes me from her and, he proceeds to babble at me in that annoying voice of his. Toe's hair is definitely dark brown, with similarly colored eyes, his features sharper than Ka's and his skin less pale.

As he continues to babble at me, I start to miss the thrumming and thumping of Ka. I whimper, my face heats up, my eyes start to water; heralding the threat of tears - a voice in my head telling me to _keep them in, keep quiet, never show weakness_ \- and... oh! There's a bright green rattling thing in front of my face, diamond shaped with a ring on the end of the handle. I watch, temporarily transfixed, as it's waved animatedly before my eyes.

The effect is ruined when he starts that babbling nonsense again, and I remember that I was upset before; so I commence bawling. I am quickly transferred back to Ka and she puts her nipple in my mouth and milk comes out of it as I suck. I am soon mollified and, as a haze descends over me and I am borne to the darkness, I decided I like Toe's annoying voice, though I'm not sure why as it makes me scream.

 _"You never screamed before, you just stayed quiet and did as expected like a trained dog,"_ a voice supplies.

Contrary to the claims, I always cry when I'm upset. Consequently, that can't be the case; I'm not even sure what a ' _dog_ ' is.

* * *

One day, I suddenly discovered something that had been eluding me for a long time now. It was a question that I had, a tickling in the back of my brain that had never formulated into full thought. Now I had my answer. My mother's hair was light brown.

* * *

 **AN: So that's my first chapter so far, I hoped you enjoyed. I know some of it was confusing and immature sounding but that was deliberate. Hopefully, I managed to capture the mindset of a newborn child. Please favorite, follow and review - it makes me feel better about myself XD and detailed reviews make me a better writer.**

 **I'd also like to thank my first reviewer** **KnightOfGlory26 for his input and encourage anyone who doesn't want to write a long review to PM me with your opinion.**

 **Also if you could say whether you would prefer longer chapters or more updates, that would be great.**

 **Farewell, humans and see you next update, whenever that will be.**

 **~Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	2. Chapter 2

**A** **N: Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. Thank you for sticking through this for more than one chapter, with a special thanks to the reviewers and those who follow and favorite. Hope you enjoy the new one. (Make sure you pay attention otherwise you might miss something. If you don't understand please ask).**

 _"Italics" - Thoughts_

"Speech" - Normal speech

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

 _Minor edit: 07/06/2018_

 **AN2: The MC turns 3 months old by the end of the chapter.**

* * *

 _Last time_

 _One day, I suddenly discovered something that had been eluding me for a long time now. It was a question that I had, a tickling in the back of my brain that had never formulated into full thought. Now I had my answer. My mother's hair was light brown._

* * *

Upon realizing I was correct in my approximation of my mother's hair color, I smiled deliberately for the first time. It was awkward to get my facial muscles to comply and, it was probably lopsided. However, it was a pure, beautiful smile in a way only babies can achieve. Hopefully, anyway; it's not as if I can see it. I'm not sure why I concluded that my smile should be so important. I imagine it must be to do with how the Giants can do lots of things but I can't.

Judging from the reaction of Ka, who was holding me at the time, it must have been something special. In the most expressive act from her that I can remember - now that I think about it I can hardly remember anything and, something tells me that isn't right - she grins wildly and spins me around for a while before regaining her composure, slowing down her spin to a stop and relaxing her smile. She stares at me intently with her green eyes that are glowing with warmth as I gurgle in jubilation.

When I calm down from my gurgling, I suddenly realize Toe isn't here. Toe usually appears at Ka's side without me noticing; it makes me uneasy to think he isn't here at all. The unease grows at the sound of a voice that says, scathingly: _"He's been gone for some time now, didn't you notice."_

My unease is replaced by guilt because _I didn't notice_ , as soon as Toe was out of my sight, I forgot about his _existence_. My eyes become moist, my sounds become depressed and, I can feel the wail building up in my throat. Then there's a calm, soothing voice different from the usual one: _"A ninja should never show their tears, you are going to be a great ninja in the future, so you can't cry."_ I am not sure what this new voice is; it's not Ka because she's making a noise that sounds like talking but is much nicer - _"singing,"_ the usual voice explains - and it wasn't the normal voice because that voice is me. Although I can't quite comprehend the words, a sense of foreboding washes over me as I stop crying and drift back into the darkness, accompanied by the sound of the sound of Ka's heartbeat and that odd and familiar thrumming while my voice complains about not being able to Scream.

* * *

I don't know why the voice wants to scream and cry; ninjas don't cry and, I'm going to be a great ninja. Why did _I_ even want to cry in the first place?

* * *

At some point, Toe is back and, he isn't as annoying as before. Whenever he speaks, in place of babble, is a tone that makes me sleepy but, not enough to put me to sleep. I like his new voice, almost as much as Ka's, but sometimes the look in his eyes makes me want to cry. But I don't cry because a ninja should never show their tears, I am going to be a great ninja in the future, so I can't cry. I always follow this rule despite not knowing what it fully means, the voice in my head telling me how wrong it is and the look in Toe's eyes when I stop my tears.

* * *

I kick and wave because it makes me feel good and causes Ka to smile with a mysterious glint in her eyes. ( _I ignore the **shouting** that happens when I started regularly exercising like this, I didn't hear my inner voice reminding me how much I used to **hate** that particular smile and I never had a feeling that something about it was **wrong, wrong, wrong** ; because they never happened and, as the great ninja I'm going to be, this is **necessary**._)

Ka gives me a kite-shaped green rattle with a ring on the end of the handle and, I grip it in my hand as I watch her finger point to the five dangling toys above my cot. They were all small humans with different clothes. One was in dark blue with a green, sleeveless jacket on top and a slashed metal headband ( _"bad man, must kill,"_ according to the unknown voice that my inner voice dislikes). Another wore black with a white one-sleeved vest ( _"kill it now before it becomes stronger"_ ). The third was in red with a thick brown vest ( _"enemy, must die"_ ). The next was dark grey with lighter grey armor on the torso, chest, shoulders, and neck ( _"kill, before they kill you"_ ). The last wore black with a sandy sleeveless jacket ( _"always watch, never trust"_ ). I do what I know is expected of me and thrash at the toys - every time I hit one a pleasant feeling comes over me - for 5 minutes until exhaustion hits. I slip into the darkness, a smile on my face as I'm greeted with the memory of floating with only the thumping of a heartbeat and the thrumming of energy.

Ka also regularly lies me on my stomach and contorts her hands into peculiar shapes. Ka does so at an angle that makes me incapable of seeing it unless I raise my head up, something I can only do for three minutes at four times a day before retreating back to the darkness. I feel I should be able to do more ( _I need to do more to: be a ninja, the best ninja; **protectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillageliveforthevillage...**_ )

* * *

After doing my exercises daily, for what could have been anytime between a week and three (I'm not sure because my memory is hazy at best), I can thrash at toys for 12 minutes straight 3 times a day and keep my head up for 8 minutes 3 times a day. I have also achieved the mental faculties needed to count for that long, nevermind I forget my record every time I sleep. Furthermore, I have received two new toys to play with. It's a bright green rattle in the shape of a four-pointed star. Ka indicated she wants me to throw the star (taking turns with both hands) at the bad ninja's so that makes it a ninja star or _"shuriken,"_ as my inner voice refers. I haven't hit any of the toys yet, because I can never let go of the star at the right time. Subsequently, Ka gave me a second toy, a squishy ball I clasp and unclasp; presumably in the hopes that I learn to let go better.

* * *

One day, both Ka and Toe aren't there when I wake up, most likely because they're doing "the best job in the world, amazing exciting, important; _moreimportantthan theirlivesmoreimportantthanmylife moreimportantthananybody'slife **(protectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillageliveforthevillage...)**_ " and there's a not quite blurry Giant that looks like Ka and sounds like Ka and her heartbeat thumps like Ka but the thrum is all wrong; an imposter and I don't like It. My eyes become moist, I can feel the wail building up in my throat but, I don't cry because a ninja should never show their tears, I am going to be a great ninja in the future, so I can't cry.

Then... I think... _truly_ think for what must be the first time ever...

 _"Why do I want to be a ninja? "_

When I can't find the answer and, the more I think about it the more it _hurts_...

 **I scream.**

* * *

 **AN: And that's that. So… lots of things are happening although only I know why and how *insert cackle here*. Don't worry if you don't fully understand, things will become clearer eventually. Please review, follow and favorite if you liked it and still leave a review telling me why/if you didn't like it.**

 **Thanks for reading, and see you next update which should come sometime this week, if not on Monday.**

 **~Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. It's nice to see that see people are favouriting and** **following my work. Thank you to all those who took the time to review and I encourage everyone who reads it to do the same. I'm always looking to improve my writing so if you see something: you like, you don't like or that could be improved, don't hesitate to tell me about - it would be deeply appreciated.**

 **Anyway, on with the story!**

 _"Italics" - Thoughts_

"Speech" - Normal speech

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

 _Minor edit on 11/06/2018_

 _14/07/2018: tried to be more descriptive_

 **AN2:** **The MC turns 4 months old by the end of the chapter.**

* * *

 _Last time:_

 _One day, both Ka and Toe aren't there when I wake up, most likely because they're doing "the best job in the world, amazing exciting, important;_ moreimportantthan theirlivesmoreimportantthanmylife moreimportantthananybody'slife **(protectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillageliveforthevillage...)** " _and there's a not quite blurry Giant that looks like Ka and sounds like Ka and her heartbeat thumps like Ka but the thrum is all wrong; an imposter and I don't like It. My eyes become moist, I can feel the wail building up in my throat but, I don't cry because a ninja should never show their tears, I am going to be a great ninja in the future, so I can't cry._

 _Then... I think..._ truly _think for what must be the first time ever..._

"Why do I want to be a ninja? "

 _When I can't find the answer and, the more I think about it the more it_ hurts...

 _ **I scream.**_

* * *

I emerge from a haze to be greeted by two Kas above me. That can't be right, because there should only be one Ka. Unless she multiplied. Can Giants do that? Giants seem to be able to do anything though - _especially Giant ninjas; they're the greatest_ \- so, it may be possible. But, I remember, there was a Giant that looked like Ka but didn't _thrum_ like Ka; an imposter. Therefore, they can't both be Ka. It must be a Giant that looks like Ka.

The Giant that looks like Ka but isn't Ka leans closer to me, causing me to notice discrepancies. Her features are less sharp than Ka's, her eyes not quite as bright and her hair is a slightly darker shade of brown. She's pointing at herself and repeating something that sounds like 'Baa'; so that should be her name. The giant that looks like Ka also seems to be covered in a brown blur of clothing while actual Ka is wearing red.

In an attempt to call her name, I coo at her while pointing towards her as best as I can with my disobedient arm. Baa smiles at this in a similar way that Ka does when I do something ninja-like. However, there's something different about the look in Baa's eyes than the glint in Ka's eyes. I don't bother trying to figure out what the distinction is because it hurts my head when I do so.

Baa, kisses my forehead - which is strange; you use your mouth for eating, so why would you use it to touch someone else. My inner voice shrugs at this - which is _also_ strange since voices shouldn't be able to shrug; I can't shrug, nor am I sure how I know what a shrug is in the first place. Baa picks me up and transfers me to the ground, sitting me down and supporting my back - because _I_ certainly can't - before Ka gives me the bright green ninja star to hold and lines up the evil ninja toys in front of me.

I'm excited to demonstrate my ninja skills to Baa (ignoring the voice questioning why I want to be a ninja because _I didn't hear it because it didn't say anything_ and the memory of me screaming because _I don't cry because big boys don't shed tears_ ). I concentrate, with increased intensity, on my task - upon noticing the greater focus Ka's eyes gleam as she alters my grip - and throw with all of my, admittedly meagre, might. I take care to let go at the right time and, the shuriken soars gracefully ( _flops onto_ ) the brown and red evil ninja, knocking it over. A pleasant sensation encompasses my body as I hit my target for the first time since I started aiming practice and I gurgle delightedly as Ka gives me a proud smile.

Ka retrieves the shuriken - although it's not that far from me - and moves the downed toy away from the others. With added difficulty I clenched the shuriken with my right hand, Ka readjusting the grip and threw the shuriken. It veered further to the right than intended but, clipped the black and sandy toy on the right flank toppling it. After a short celebration, I switch back to throwing with my left but miss. I continue to throw with my left until I've hit every target. As I was repeating the same with my right hand, I was disturbed by the sound of an opening door and looked toward the blur that entered my room. Ka moved towards the blur until they became a single blur so, I presume that it was To as they often do that. A tingle of pride goes through me and, I gurgle as I noticed his previously undetectable arrival.

When I'm carried to them and, I see the look on Ka's face, I get a premonition in the form of a tingle down my spine.

My portent comes to fruition as the next time To interrupts my ninja practice it's by appearing with his face next to mine from behind.

 _It must be a conspiracy_.

* * *

A few days later, two blurry figures enter my room while I'm doing my ninja practice - I can now consistently hit two toys in a row with my left hand but only one with my right - while Ka watches me. One of the Giants, who I think is Toe, talks to Ka for a bit before turning to leave, but waits. The other Giant leans towards me until his face becomes clear; its expression's set in a grimace, suiting its thin, sharp face, ink-colored eyes, and hair, hooked nose and with a burn scar marring a third of its face: covering its chin, jaw, lips, cheek, and temple on the right side of its face. The blurs it's wearing are the colour of one of my ninja toys - dark blue and green, but his shiny thing isn't scratched so it must be a good ninja.

It looks at me as if confused about what to do, before settling on an awkward smile. I laugh at the attempt.

I decide I like him.

He returns his face to a grimace and then puts something small, in front of me. It bears a similarity to the Giant it came from, but its features are a significantly less sharp; almost round, its head didn't look like it belonged on its body due to the comparative size and its nose was diminutive in comparison to the Giant's nose. Wearing a yellow blur, It's lying on its stomach with a fist in its mouth while it strokes the carpet in, what I presume to be, wonderment, gazing at it with wide eyes.

Seeing that it's so small and looks like a Giant, it must be whatever I am - _"a toddler,"_ a voice supplies. Looking at a small Giant, a baby, for the first time is so strange when you're used to seeing big Giants. I wonder, looking at the baby once again if that's what I look like.

The Giant seemed to give it to me, so maybe it's mine now; it should make a better toy than my evil ninjas. It looks up from the carpet before awe appears on its face and it speaks like the Giants only not with the same ease and, there's a twinkle in its eyes as it stares at me. It then moves, up from the ground and, with some struggle, gets up on its feet to walk over to me. I realize that even though it's small relative to a Giant, it still towers over and as it holds my face with sticky, saliva-drenched fingers, talking about something.

I don't think I want it anymore.

Ka, noticing my distress, moves me away from the toddler, causing it to make noises of objection and tear up. _(Why do they tear up, I thought you didn't cry when you grow up or was it because ninja's don't cry and I'm going to be a great ninja in the future so I shouldn't cry; I can't seem to remember)_. Ka placates the child, referring to it as 'Yo,' by giving it my bright green rattle. Ka lines up the ninja toys and, we take turns in throwing the rattle at them until the grimacing Giant takes the Yo away.

* * *

It's another day when both Ka and Toe aren't there when I wake up that I am instead greeted by a pale, feminine face, framed by long, black hair, smirking at me with the same look Ka often gives me in their yellow, slitted eyes that have purple markings around them, dressed in a white blur and, I think: _"Wow, she's even prettier than Ka."_

* * *

 **AN: Well that's a wrap. Not a lot of plot progression but I did manage to introduce three new characters! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that little twist at the end. Again, please, follow, favourite and review - I'd especially like to hear some theories about what people think is happening, who this 'mystery woman' is and why 'she's' there.**

 **See you in the next chapter (coming within a week, hopefully).**

 **~Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Gree** **tings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8.** **In case you didn't read this in my Chapter 1 edit, I'll put this here.** **I've been told that some people find this confusing, that is deliberate. The story is told completely from the perspective of the MC, who at this point in time is a baby and consequently, has the limitations of one. Therefore, if the MC is confused about something or perceives something a certain way, that is what's conveyed to the reader: he is an unreliable narrator. I've also had people confused about the age of my character. This is again due to the MC's lack of knowledge. As this is a minor detail, though, I will put his age in the ANs from now on. The MC is around 4 months at the beginning of this chapter of this chapter and 7 months old by the end. Moreover, this fic will be dark and is a slight AU with a more militaristic Konaha, so keep that in mind. Anyway, thank you to all those who reviewed, followed and favourited this work; I appreciate it. Also, anybody, who read this I would be grateful for your opinion on the story as well; I will always do my best to address the concerns.**

 _"Italics" - Thought_

"Speach" - Normal speech

"_ _ _" - Blank space for a word he doesn't understand.

 **Disclaimer: I DO own Naruto… in my dreams.**

Slight change (20/06/18): Initially wanted to name MC 'Oreki' after the MC of Hyouka, but felt 'Jun' _順_ ' fit better - the meaning of the name being obedient.

14/07/2018: tried to be more descriptive.

* * *

 _Last time._

 _It's another day when both Ka and Toe aren't there when I wake up that I am instead greeted by a pale, feminine face, framed by long, black hair, smirking at me with the same look Ka often gives me in their yellow, slitted eyes that have purple markings around them and, I think:_ "Wow, she's even prettier than Ka."

* * *

The pretty lady takes me out of my cot and puts me in my new seat. She points to herself and repeats something. It's too long for me to remember so, I shorten it to 'Ru' to make it easier. Ru puts thirteen fluffy things in front of me and, after a while a makes strange shapes with her hands. After making a hand shape, she points to a toy and says a word. Ru makes thirteen distinct hand-shapes in a sequence; which I assume correspond to a toy. She keeps repeating this until I start to lose focus. I'm distracted by the material of my seat because it's just so _soft_. She uses my hand to point at the toys, getting my attention with a glare that sends tingles down my spine.

(I realize I should pay attention to her at all times because _it's rude to waste such a great person's time because that's what big boys do because a ninja should always listen to their superior officer_ \- one of those reasons, though I'm not sure which. The first reason sounds the most convincing right now.)

Ru keeps making a hand-shape, then makes me point at a toy and names said toy several times. She makes a hand shape that means bird, before saying "bird" and holds it while looking at me expectantly. Ru probably wants me to point to it without further prompting, and so I do - as quickly as possible to escape the building pressure that occurs when I take some time. I receive a predatory grin from Ru and a soft glow of pride that wells up inside me.

Ru goes through the entire sequence again repeatedly until I can point to the corresponding toy to each hand-shapes without further prompting, even when they're out of sequence with no mistakes.

Ru then takes me through my usual exercises; flailing at my evil ninja toys for half an hour, before resting; lying on my stomach for 25 minutes while keeping my head up and arching my back; throwing my ninja star at the evil ninja toys until I consistently hit the targets in a row with both hands.

My consciousness fades away as I go to sleep under the careful watch of the pretty lady as a voice points out to me _"I'm pretty sure that's a dude."_

* * *

Later that day, or at least I think it was - it's difficult to discern without a regular sleep cycle, Ka was washing me as she sang when I noticed a figure across the room. Ka made no move to acknowledge the figure and, I couldn't make out their appearance because of my still developing figure but, I wasn't going to take any risks. I attempted to raise the alarm by flailing around and raising my voice, however, this was soon subdued by a sudden urge to _"behave if you want something, articulate it."_

So while pointing frantically in the direction of the possible intruder, I called out: "K, Keh, Ka, Kaa!".

She paid attention to me at this, regarding me with a glint in her eyes and a smile reminiscent of the pretty lady who may or may not be a man before looking at where I was pointing and, she laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed some more.

Feeling insulted that my apparently unneeded panic was so comical to her, as she wiped a tear from her eye and calmed down from her bout of laughter, I ignored the voice in my head saying _"that's the most emotion I've ever seen her display."_

After Ka schooled her features back into a glinty-eyed smirk as she lifted me up and put me in front of the _"mirror, it was a fucking mirror,"_ as my inner voice so _'kindly'_ pointed out while laughing. She points to herself and says "Kaa," and looks at me anticipatorily, prompting me to say "Ka" back.

She corrects me while pointing to the Giant in the mirror that looks exactly like her (not just really similar like Baa) by saying "Kaa" again, this time with an emphasis on the _'aa.'_ I then repeat, this time correctly, "Kaa." Ka, I mean _Kaa_ points at me and says something that ends in 'Jun,' so I say "Joon" (botching the pronunciation) in return. She then points to the, what I now realize is a little Giant in the mirror and repeats 'Jun' so I say "Joon" as well.

Looking at the Little Giant in the mirror, with its tuft of dark brown, though lighter than Toe's, hair; it's green eyes, darker than Kaa's and pale skin, a shade somewhere between both of my parents and I realize: this is _me._

* * *

I'm sitting down, unsupported now, and marvelling at the strange taste of the shuriken in my mouth before comparing it to the taste of my fist. Toe's watching me disinterestedly when his bored face turns into a mischievous grin. Not just like when Baa hides her face when playing 'boo,' but completely vanishes.

I look around the room in a panic, trying to find his new location. I can't see him anywhere so I call out: "Toe, Toe!," but he doesn't reappear. My face starts to heat up and, my eyes become wet before I'm reminded by the other voices: _"Big boys don't cry, ninja's don't cry, don't waste people's time with crying."_ But there's also voice telling me that I'm still a baby and not a ninja yet so, _"it's OK to cry_ " and my inner voice telling me to **_"Scream"_** \- those voices are drowned out, however so, I stay quiet.

At this point, Toe appeared at my side with a "Boo!" causing me to shriek in fright and lose my balance from my sitting position. I slowly got up from the floor before swiping at him with a growl in retaliation. As my hand was about to connect he disappeared and my hand struck air as Toe reappeared behind me, again causing me to shriek.

 _(His eyes were sad but his face was smiling, so it must just be my imagination.)_

* * *

One day Kaa picks me up, glides across the mats of my room to the sliding door and opens it. She manoeuvres gracefully through the complex maze of awkwardly shaped, twisting corridors and hidden doors that make up my home before exiting from an underground entrance to the house, next to what must be the more 'traditional' entrance - the front door.

Something in the back of my minds telling me that was strange, but I ignore it ifavourour of gawking at the experience of being outside for the first time in my life. The feeling of fresh air on my skin and in my lungs is novel and exciting. I'm awed by the sights I see around me: the large wooden structure with a sloped slate roof that is my house and the varied plant life ranging from flowers to towering trees.

Me, Kaa and Toe - who was waiting outside for us - walk past the area of similar looking houses with similar looking people; all wearing the sign that makes them part of the 'clan.' We pass by a tall wall with an open gate and two people standing either side of the gate and continue down a paved path through a forested area. After exiting the forested area, there's streets and streets full of differently constructed houses, shops and stalls, and Giants of varying sizes including some ninja Giants running across roofs.

The streets are as twisting and confusing as the inside of my house, but give off the sense that it was by complete accident that it formed a labyrinth. My parents still managed to navigate it expertly, although they weren't helped by the countless Weird Giants who seemed to think I was a toy. We seemed to have reached our destination as we entered what seemed to be a restaurant and we sat at a large table next to a familiar looking man with a burn scar marring a third of his face and the pretty lady that looked after me awhile ago, whose name I can't remember. As the Giants proceeded to talk about something I couldn't understand, I fell asleep while playing with my mother's silky hair.

I was woken up by a loud shout coming from a white-haired man that had red stuff coming out of his nose that had a blond woman standing over his downed form. The blond woman turned to me and, her expression softened as she gazed at me with her brown eyes. I was handed off to her while she cooed something at me.

The white-haired Giant appeared next to her with the red stuff coming from his nose gone, but he still had two lines of red coming from his eyes. He said something that earned him another punch and I slept in the bosom of the blond Giant.

* * *

At some point, while I'm doing my ninja practice (being supported by my armpits while I stand, attacking an evil ninja doll that's around my size; throwing shuriken and kunai a the ninja dolls from some distance away with limited success; crawling at my highest speeds across the room or for as long as I can; learning to correctly identify and name each of the hand-shapes, among other things; solving puzzles and listening for any sign of my parents and other visitors presence) I notice someone new watching me.

He has black hair in spikes that reach his eyes in the middle and his ears on the sides; slate-coloured, sharp eyes that glint with some unknown emotion; skin with an average complexion with some signs of ageing and an 'X' shaped scar on his chin. He introduces himself to me with what I understand to be: "Well done _ _ me, child. You _ _an _ shinobi one _. My name is Shimura Danzo."

* * *

 **AN: And that's a wrap. This is my longest chapter yet! I meant to have this up by Thursday but I just lacked the motivation to sit down and write, wasn't anything major, just felt really tired last week. I've also basically revealed who the mysterious lady was (if it wasn't extremely obvious already), it was Orochimaru - the pretty bastard. I've also included some slight world building and descriptive writing - hope I managed to get that right. There were more characters introduced, although not yet named (although, again obvious as to who they are). Also if you paid enough attention you'll find the answers to some of the mysteries I've set up in previous chapters. But I've added yet another mystery! Why is Danzo here and what are his plans for our baby MC? Find out the answer to this question and more in the next chapter of Hyouka!**

 **As always, please revie** **w, favourite and follow and leave me some of your theories on what's happening and where you think I'll go from here.**

 **Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** **Gree** **tings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. Welcome to the new chapter, and thank you for continuing to read this work. In this chapter, we see what Danzo wants with our MC among other things. As always, even if you drop the story after this chapter, please review what** **you like, you don't like or that could be improved. For instance, I try to do dialogue in this chapter but, the MC can't speak or understand Japanese properly yet. Consequently, I don't like how it turned out. I'd be grateful if someone could give me advice on how to balance the language barrier with keeping the conversation interesting or point me to a fic you think does this well.**

 **At the beginning of this chapter, the MC is 7 months old.**

 _"Italics" - Thought_

"Speach" - Normal speech

"_ _ _" - Blank space for a word he doesn't understand.

 **Disclaimer: I DO own Naruto… in my dreams.**

* * *

 _Last time_

 _At some point, while I'm doing my ninja practice (being supported by my armpits while I stand, attacking an evil ninja doll that's around my size; throwing shuriken and kunai a the ninja dolls from some distance away with limited success; crawling at my highest speeds across the room or for as long as I can; learning to correctly identify and name each of the hand-shapes, among other things; solving puzzles and listening for any sign of my parents and other visitors presence) I notice someone new watching me._

 _He has black hair in spikes that reach his eyes in the middle and his ears on the sides; slate colored, sharp eyes that glint with some unknown emotion; skin with an average complexion with some signs of aging and an 'X' shaped scar on his chin. He introduces himself to me with what I understand to be: "Well done _ _ me, child. You _ __ an _ _shinobi one _. My name is Shimura Danzo."_

* * *

Danzo approached me before sitting on his shins in the weird way some adults do. He leaned in close and asked: "Do you _ _ _ a ninja?"

I assume he meant to ask if I want to be a ninja, I'm not entirely sure how to answer. There are too many voices telling me too many things. The loudest voices are telling me to _(be a ninja, the best ninja; **protectKonohakillherenemiesdieforthevillageliveforthevillage** )_, my inner voice and two quieter voices are telling me to do what _I_ want to do. Another voice telling me to not be a waste of time. There's even a voice telling me to provide ' _research material_ ,' whatever that means, for someone when I get older. If I listen to all the voices, then I suppose the best answer is to become a ninja. It satisfies the increasingly loud voice to serve Konoha, follows what I want because I want to make Kaa happy and she seems to want me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja.

"Umm... y, yes Danso," I end up replying, finding it difficult to enunciate properly and mispronounced the 'z.'

"Good, _ _. _ you _ _ me Danzo-ojiisama _ Ojii-Sama, _ _ _ _ a superior _ _," Danzo said, before simplifying it too "Not 'Danzo,' Danzo-ojiisama _ Ojii-Sama," when he saw me tilt my head in confusion.

"Oh, I bad Dantso ojee sama?" I inquired back in the closest to an apology I could manage with my limited vocabulary.

"No, _ _. _ _ to _ me _ in _. I'm busy _, _ I _ _ _ _ _ _ you," he reassured before smiling and then helped me with some of my ninja practice before he left.

* * *

One day, when I was taking a break from my training, I was testing my first tooth on a ninja toy - it was wearing dark blue with a green flak jacket but, it's headband wasn't slashed so, it was a good ninja and my favorite toy - two people entered my room.

One was the grimacing man with a burn scar that seems to be Toe's friend and what I assume is his daughter. There's something familiar about the girl but, I can't quite think of what. I suppose I met her when I was younger and forgot.

The grimacing man, who now that I think about it never introduced himself to me, looks different now. His scar has faded somewhat, but the rest of his face looks paler and more wrinkled, he has developed bags under his ink-colored eyes, has similarly-colored scraggy facial hair and has grown his hair out int a short ponytail. He's dressed exactly like the ninja toy I'm chewing on currently.

His daughter looks similar, with her inky eyes, and shoulder length hair in a ponytail. However: her pale skin appears a lot healthier, her face isn't as sharp as her father's and, she doesn't have his facial hair. His daughter looks similar, with her inky eyes, and shoulder length hair in a ponytail. However: her pale skin appears a lot healthier, her face isn't as sharp as her father's and, she doesn't have his facial hair. Her eyes were red though, and she had a liquid coming from her nose that I couldn't identify.

Kaa went to greet them, saying: "Hello, Minikui-san. _ _ you _ _?"

With a slightly smaller grimace, the man - whose name I would presume is Minikui - answered gruffly, "_ _, _ _. _ want to get this mission _ _."

"Yeah, _ _ _ _ Fumei _. _ _ you Yō-chan?" She asked the daughter.

"I don't want Tou-chan to go!" she screamed with tears threatening to spill.

"Why not?" Kaa inquired in return.

"Cos if he goes he might stay gone, _ Kaa-chan! Then I_ _ _ _ _ Sobo*-sama and I _ Sobo-sama! She _ _ _ _! I don't want _! _ _ Tou-chan's gone _ I _ _ _ to _ me _, or..." she started to explain, her tone getting more and more desperate and distraught before her speech devolved into meaningless babbles as she started crying and more of the strange liquid came out of her nose.

Seeing her crying made me want to cry. I'm not sure why but it just seemed the right thing to do until Kaa was holding Kimyō and singing to her, saying _"Shhh"_ and then crying was the wrong thing to do. After all, _a ninja should never show their tears, I am going to be a great ninja in the future, so I can't cry._

Kimyō quickly recovered from her bout of tears and became quiet in Kaa's arms.

"_, your Tou-chan _ a Shinobi _ the Leaf, right?" Kaa enquired softly.

"Yes, Oba-chan," Kimyō responded, subdued.

"What do shinobi do?" Kaa continued.

"Protect the village," Kimyō answered.

"_, your Tou-chan _ to go to protect the village. _, the bad guys _ _ get _ _ _, OK?"

"OK, Oba-chan," she acknowledged before addressing her father, "It's OK I _ you to _ _."

After a small chuckle and a quickly disappearing small smile from her father who said, "I'm _ I _ your _, _ I can't _ _ _. Thank you, Nise, _ _ down my _. I don't _ _ to _ _ her _. Fumei _ _ _ _ _. I_ _ going now."

"You're _ Mini-kun," which got a snort from the man, "_ _ _ to _ _ _ _," my mother spoke.

"I _," he said, "he's _ I _ _," sadly. "Goodbye, Kimyō-chan," he said to his daughter with a kiss on her forehead, "Jun-kun," with a nod in my direction and finally "Nise," with a twinge of a smile before he left.

* * *

I'm being looked after by Oba-chan when she interrupts my ninja practice by asking "why do you want to be a ninja?"

I'm surprised when I can't find the answer immediately. What was the answer again? The more I try to remember, the more it hurts and, then the answers all come tumbling out of my mouth: "I want to make Kaa happy and she seems to want me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja. It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important; _moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillage** **liveforthevillage..."**_ and, I realize by the growing feeling of **_Wrong, Wrong, Wrong_** blaring in my head and the look of disgust on Oba-chan's face that this isn't right and _I don't want to be a ninja._

* * *

I'm being held by Kaa-chan, looking at the three faces carved into the Hokage Rock while she describes the sacrifices they have made to keep the village safe, and I can't help but feel overcome by pride and awe at what they've achieved and I think: _"I can't wait to be a ninja."_

* * *

 **AN: That's the chapter, I didn't expect to get one out so soon. I was messing around with the cliffhanger last time and it turns out Danzo was just being nice! (Or was he?) I also left you with another mystery, although it's becoming clearer as to what the cause is (or not, I'm not sure if I got that across). I decided I've had enough of writing a baby's perspective so I skipped a bit and the MC is 1 years old at the end of this chapter and he'll be 3 years old the next chapter. Hopefully, you liked it and continue to read when I update again within the week.**

 ***Notes on Japanese: 'Sobo' is the term used for your own grandmother - different to the usual Obāsan which can mean anyone of the age to be a grandmother and Oba-chan, meaning aunt or someone of that age. Obviously, Kaa-chan means mother and Tou-chan means father, with 'Toe' being a misspelling of Tou as he doesn't know how to spell it properly.**

 **Minikui** **醜い means 'Grimace'** (because I was lazy)

 **Kimyō 奇妙 means 'Strange'**

 **Nise 偽** (MC's mom) **means 'False'**

 **Jun 順** (MC) **means 'O** **bey'**

 **Thank you again for reading and please** **follow, favorite and review.**

 **Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. Welcome to the new chapter. There's some plot progression, character development, world-building and new character introductions in this chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited and everyone else for reading this. Jun is 2 years old at the start of this chapter.**

 _"Italics" - Thoughts_

"Speech" - Normal speech

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing.**

* * *

 _Last time_

 _I'm being looked after by Oba-chan when she interrupts my ninja practice by asking "why do you want to be a ninja?"_

 _I'm surprised when I can't find the answer immediately. What was the answer again? The more I try to remember, the more it hurts and, then the answers all come tumbling out of my mouth: "I want to make Kaa happy and she seems to want me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja. It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important;_ moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillage** **liveforthevillage..."** _and, I realize by the growing feeling of_ **Wrong, Wrong, Wrong** _blaring in my head and the look of disgust on Oba-chan's face that this isn't right and_ I don't want to be a ninja _._

* * *

 _I'm being held by Kaa-chan, looking at the three faces carved into the Hokage Rock while she describes the sacrifices they have made to keep the village safe, and I can't help but feel overcome by pride and awe at what they've achieved and I think:_ "I can't wait to be a ninja."

* * *

Oba-chan is taking care of me again, only this time she's doing so in her home. It's a lot smaller than mine, though its outside is structured similarly; being mainly wooden and having a sloped slate roof, characteristic of a traditional dwelling. However, the inside of her residence is completely different. While my home is spartan in ornamentation, Oba-chan's house is adorned with an awe-inspiring amount of paraphernalia, souvenirs, and decoration.

Her house was a tapestry of different colored, styled and patterned rugs, carpets and wallpaper. With various instruments, queerly shaped furniture and all sorts of _stuff_ I couldn't even think to name cluttering the space and making it difficult to maneuver around the building.

She names as many of the things she has hoarded as she can in the time that we spend names as many of the things she has hoarded as she can in the time that we spend together. The number of places she's been, the stories of how she got some of the items, and the absurdity of some of the purposes of her collection astounded me.

She had a pet rock that she got on a mission in Ishi. A two-meter-long kiseru ***** that she 'relocated' from a Mountain country noble's mansion when she was supposed to be 'relocating' something else. A fish walker from a diplomatic mission to Uzu. A box that closes immediately after you open it, from a not so diplomatic mission in Uzu. She had bought some shoe umbrellas that were being sold in one of the capital's back alleys, among other things.

Oba-chan took me through her house until she stopped in what seemed to be the kitchen. She bit into her thumb and painted a swirling pattern into one of the walls, causing a door-sized section of that wall to swing open, and reveal a spiral staircase.

"Come on I've got something special to show you," Oba-chan beckoned with an excited 'come here' gesture and an equally excited look on her face.

"Even more special than what you've already shown me?" I replied, intrigued, walking over before being stopped by Oba-chan who seemed to be considering something.

"Yes, what's down here is super special," she explained, "however, that's why you need to keep it a secret," she continued, "and if you don't promise to keep it a secret, you can't see what's down here."

I couldn't decide whether the offer was worth it. I really wanted to find out what the secret is but, on the other hand, Kaa-chan always said to report suspicious behavior to my superiors; that as a ninja I'd even need to forsake friends and family for the good of the village. However, that didn't seem right: it's not the village that raised me or makes me happy, it's my friends and family. Yet again, being a ninja is _moreimportantthantheirlivesthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillageliveforthevillage..."**_. All the thinking starts to give me a headache.

"How about you pretend that it's your mission to protect the secret," Oba-chan suggested with a small frown on her face and some hope in her voice, "after all ninjas may have to keep classified information safe."

This idea resolved the struggle in my mind to one solution: _"It's my 'mission' to collect information on Oba-chan's secret, reporting anything suspicious to Kaa-chan and if I find nothing suspicious to keep the secret safe."_ After reconciling the opinions in my mind, I accepted Oba-chan's conditions and went down the candlelit spiral staircase before her secret was revealed to me.

* * *

It was a sweltering day at the end of summer and, I was playing shogi ***** with Kimyō in the engawa ***** toward the back of the house near a koi pond. I was losing to her, badly, when she suddenly she asked: "What's the point of shogi?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was invented for the sole purpose of finding something smart people to beat people at?" I answered sarcastically as she took another one of my pieces.

"I'm being serious here. It's supposed to be a strategy game, right? But it's just so easy!" she complained at which I scoffed.

"Life sure is hard for geniuses, beating adults at shogi games and having an IQ in the 200's must be so hard for you. Want me to hit you in the head to see if you become stupider so you're not so bored anymore?" I offered.

"No, that's not what I meant!" she complained, "I know it's because I'm really smart or whatever but, I can predict your next move wa~y too easily," she expanded before detailing the plan I was currently formulating, including contingencies and corrections. At my frustrated face, she gained a triumphant smirk: "see, to~o easy. It's all because you're confined to a specific space, with a definite range of movements and, a finite range of options. In real life, we aren't constrained to definite moves within a certain space; we can be unpredictable. Even if I knew everything about your fighting capabilities, I couldn't possibly predict how you would use them next with one hundred percent accuracy. Furthermore, even though I could probably correctly predict your next most likely move, it doesn't guarantee I could do anything about it. There are also environmental issues and random chance that isn't accounted for."

"Your point being?" I wondered, trying, and failing to raise one eyebrow like Tsunade-obachan often does.

"The point is that I don't get why my clan thinks shogi is so great. I also rea~lly don't get why people act like life is a shogi match; as if everything is confined by certain rules and don't consider less tangible factors. For instance, apparently, because I'm a girl that can beat Shikaku at shogi, and am 'related distantly enough,' I'm the perfect candidate to be the 'honorable' clan heir's wife and Sobo-sama ***** is already planning the wedding. She isn't considering either of our opinions or, even the clan head's!" she explained.

"Well, that was a rather roundabout way of complaining about a possible arranged marriage," I responded, causing her to glare, "but, all I can really say is that people are stupid. Like Kaa-chan seems to believe we're going to get married at some point. The best advice I can give you is to resist it kicking and screaming."

"That's not really helpful," Kimyō complained half-heartedly.

"What do you want me to do, I'm two. Though I can tell you something, one always pay attention to your game and not all people play by the rules," I said before placing a piece down and finishing with, "checkmate."

Kimyō looked down at the board and saw it completely different to the board in her mind. "You cheated," she accused.

"Can you prove it?" I asked with a growing smirk.

"The pieces are definitely in the wrong places and you physically couldn't have taken that many pieces in those turns," she provided.

"Not my fault you're losing your touch," I returned.

"You're an idiot," she insulted, resigning from the argument.

"I won," I pointed out, attempting to keep a straight face that quickly gave way to a bout of laughter that was soon joined by Kimyō's own.

* * *

On the day I was born ***** , September the 7th, Kaa-chan took me out into our house's 100 meters squared training field - technically belonging to the clan but money can be convincing - for that day's training session. The field was about 250 meters away from our actual property, separated by trees. It had a worn path around the perimeter, with several outcroppings of trees and rocks within. There was also a small body of water to the east of the field.

She situated me next to the water and told me to "Sit down, whichever way you find most comfortable," upon seeing me sit down in seiza* - a position I was so used to by that point, any other felt strange - she continued: "close your eyes and focus on the sensation in your stomach. Have you got it?" After confirming that I felt the thrum deep in my gut that reminded me of days floating in the darkness, she then instructed: keep your focus on that sensation, open your eyes and stand up."

As I attempted to do so, I lost focus on my chakra - as if it didn't want to be used, as if using it was wrong. "Don't worry if you lose focus on your chakra; it's rare anybody can do it immediately but, practice makes perfect; just keep doing it until you get it right," Kaa-chan assured.

I managed to keep my focus on my chakra long enough to stand up. "Now, I'm going to put this leaf on your stomach and, you're going to attempt to keep it there with your chakra," Kaa explained before explaining further at my confused face and subsequent loss of focus: "You simply need to imagine your chakra moving your chakra out of your stomach. Imagining your chakra as a sticky substance, as a vacuum or, even just telling it to make the leaf to stick are some ways people have found to do this exercise."

Refocusing on my chakra, feeling the leaf placed on my stomach and willing it to stick I felt as if I just ran despite only a second passing before the leaf fell off.

"Don't worry about that. As I said before, these things take time, so just keep practicing," she encouraged before I attempted to do the activity a few more times before she stopped me citing the effects of chakra overuse, particularly in young children.

My other exercises were also upgraded. I was: shown the proper forms for taijutsu that went beyond the basics; stood five meters in front of a humanoid target with the main vital points having bullseyes at the center of them and rings expanded from there to throw kunai and shuriken at; given made to run the perimeter both for as long and as fast as I can and made to detect Kaaa-chan's approach and locate her presence, during which we discovered I had a small sensory ability with a range of five meters if I strained.

* * *

One night, when I was supposed to be sleeping, I practiced the leaf sticking technique with one of my old evil ninja toys. I focused, on my chakra and the feeling of the toy against my stomach; moving my chakra to connect with the toy and willing it to stick. It was way more draining to keep it there than a leaf but, I managed it... for all of five seconds before all I knew was darkness.

It was in that darkness that I remembered the life of the naive Oreki Houtarou, who had been taken advantage of throughout his life, causing him to live by the motto: 'If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick.' Who, whenever he had forsaken his motto found that it was never worth it in the end. A man who had died through his own designs and had been reborn.

* * *

 **AN: Well that's the chap, hope you like it. I don't think I'll be updating in a while so I wanted to make it extra long but, I felt this was the best place to end it - and I'm not one for superfluous information.**

 ***Notes:**

 **A kiseru's basically a thin smoking pipe, typically used by women.**

 **In case you didn't know, shogi is Japanese chess: it has a few different pieces and you are allowed to use captured pieces. (Really basic description)**

 **An engawa is an outer corridor that wraps around a Japanese house that resembles a wrap-around veranda.**

 **Sobo means your own grandmother.**

 **In my version of Konaha, birthdays aren't celebrated because _being born_ is generally not seen as something worth celebrating.**

 **The MC and Kimyō seem mature for their age because Kakashi is considered a legal adult at 5 (when he becomes a Genin) so it's not much of a stretch for toddlers, one having some of his previous life's experiences and the other being a genius Nara.**

 **There's nothing much else to say except review, favorite and follow and ask what do you think 'Oba-chan's' secret is?**

 **Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8. Sorry for how long this took but real life has been keeping me busy and really saps my enthusiasm for writing. I really wanted to get this chapter right so it's been revised a lot but I'm still not completely happy with the chapter, so feedback would be appreciated. I also posted a chapter of a different story - Abyss - as a creative outlet, so check that out if you have time. I** **did this chapter on my phone, so there will probably be more errors than usual. Hope you enjoy.**

 _"Italics" - Thoughts_

"Speech" - Normal speech

 **Disclaimer: I own Nothing, it is all a fabrication of the Matrix.**

* * *

 _Last time_

 _One night, when I was supposed to be sleeping, I practised the leaf sticking technique with one of my old evil ninja toys. I focused, on my chakra and the feeling of the toy against my stomach; moving my chakra to connect with the toy and willing it to stick. It was way more draining to keep it there than a leaf but, I managed it... for all of five seconds before all I knew was darkness._

 _It was in that darkness that I remembered the life of the naive Oreki Houtarou, who had been taken advantage of throughout his life, causing him to live by the motto: 'If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick.' Who, whenever he had forsaken his motto found that it was never worth it in the end. A man who had died through his own designs and had been reborn._

* * *

When I returned from the darkness I was in a different room. Judging by the sterile smell, the 'bold' colour scheme of white, off-white and what used to be white and the odd (what I assumed to be) monitoring equipment coupled with the tube attached to my arm that led to a bag of liquid I was in the hospital. Although, the room appeared more like the hospitals you see in charity adverts playing dress-up than the ones I was used to in my previous life.

But therein lies my current problem, I have lived a previous life.

The loss of my original life doesn't bother me in itself; having had ended it personally for a reason. However with the memories of another life also carry the emotions associated with them. While, previously, I would have been more or less happy to go along with the attempts to indoctrinate me into the shinobi lifestyle and be the perfect little child soldier that my mother always wanted, now it was different.

My prior personality held a strong conversion to being taken advantage of, of being used for someone else's gain and, instead conserved energy for what is necessary, in the delusional hope that something worth the energy will come. Unfortunately, this world isn't so lenient as to allow me to do as I please. There were many elements that would force me into the life of a ninja. The expectations placed upon me by Orochimaru, Danzo and his mother and the childish want to live up to them. _(I want to make Kaa happy and she wants me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja)_. The way his new society works in that a child born of a ninja clan would be shunned for not becoming one without good reason, ( _ **wemusttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevi**_ _ **llageliveforthevillage)**_ lack of other options that were available to him outside of the ninja path (It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important; _moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife)_ \- there were few jobs available that weren't passed down hereditarily, and that old, forgotten desire to mean, something, do something that matters (I want to make Kaa happy and she wants me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja, so I'm going to be a ninja, the best ninja. It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important; _moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillage** **liveforthevillage...**_.)

The only way I could think of to escape the ninja lifestyle would be with the help of my aunt; my _Oba-chan_. However, she hardly needed the stress, isolation and extra scrutiny that shielding him would require. Not to mention he could hardly put his trust in someone for what would likely be an altruistic exchange. His life experiences also gave him a greater independent streak - relying on others is hard when betrayal was always a possibility.

Furthermore, even though my old-self wishes to rebel, my current personality will always gravitate towards the life of a ninja, no matter what objections spring from the old-personality, the new is already dedicated to the decision he's been pushed towards with a fanatic devotion. (I want to make Kaa happy and she wants me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja, so I'm going to be a ninja, the best ninja. It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important; _moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillage** **liveforthevillage...**_.). The two paths fight each twist with each other and snap each other apart in my mind until the conflict gives me a headache and I return to the dark.

When I return from the darkness, Kaa-san, Oba-chan and Tsunade-Bachan are standing by my bed (though it' closer to a stationary stretcher) and I've come to a decision. I will live by my old motto again: "If I don't have to do it, I won't. If I have to do it, I'll make it quick." I need to become a ninja, that has been ingrained in me since soon after my rebirth. (I want to make Kaa happy and she wants me to be a ninja and, I won't be wasting all the time I spent training to be a ninja, so I'm going to be a ninja, the best ninja. It's the best job in the world, amazing, exciting, important; _moreimportantthanmylifemoreimportantthananybody'slife; **iwanttoprotectKonahakillherenemiesdieforthevillage** **liveforthevillage...**_.). Moreover, it wouldn't do for me to become anything other than exceptional, not even I can allow that - for with power will come at least a semblance of freedom (there is no true freedom in a military dictatorship). However, I don't need to become what they want me to become, so I'll become a great ninja on my own terms. Finally, I will do it as fast as possible - the sooner I do it the better. _(Before I become empty again, unable to scream.)_

* * *

 **AN: I apologise for the shortness of the chapter, but life seems to not want me to write. I'd rather upload this than leave you hanging so I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. Let me know your thoughts in a review or PM, favourite and follow and see you next time (whenever that will be).**

 **~ Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** **Greetings, humans. I am Lrrr, ruler of Omicron Persei 8.** **I deeply apologise for the long wait since my last update, but my life has been keeping me busy. But, when I finally had the chance to sit down and write something, I can't find the motivation to write. Therefore, I'm officially going on hiatus.** ** _'Hasta la vista Meat Bags'_** **(Bender Bending Rodriguez).**


End file.
